Never Grow Up
by TMNT-Queen
Summary: Lasting effects from a recent Kraang capture leave Mikey shaky and feeling raw...and the brothers soon learn that what's inside isn't that different a reflection from the outside. (Rated T for language.)


_Summary: Lasting effects from a recent Kraang capture leave Mikey shaky and feeling raw...and the brothers soon learn that what's inside isn't that different a reflection from the outside._

_Inspired by Taylor Swift's "Never Grow Up."_

**Chapter One**

"Sensei! Sensei, we need help!"

The shout is torn from Leonardo's raw throat and as he hears the answering sound of footsteps he wants to melt in relief, but the weight on his shell and the terror in his mind prevent him.

A six-foot-tall rat appears around the corner and his brown eyes reveal his own fear. "What has happened?" Splinter demands, quickly but carefully removing an unconscious Michelangelo from Leo's shell.

"Kraang," the leader says hoarsely. He hurries to pull the lab doors open and curses at them when they refuse to budge. His fingers clench tighter around the door handle and he yanks harder, arms shaking from exhaustion. Tears prick at the corners of his eyes and he blinks them away. "Not now! Open, dammit!"

His father takes a shaky, deep breath and tries not to shout. He has to be calm. He needs to be calm. "Where are your brothers?"

"Raph is watching our backs and Donnie is-"

As if on cue, a purple-and-green blur speeds past both of them, panting and out of breath. "Here! I'm here! Leo, the lab-"

"Doors are stuck-"

Donnie swears under his breath and heaves against them with all his might. They release with an awful screech but he barely gives them a second glance. "I _knew _I should've oiled them yesterday," he mutters as he rushes to set up his emergency medical equipment. "The table, Sensei, put him on the table."

Only when his youngest is gently laid out does Splinter get a good look at him, and the sight nearly breaks his heart. There are burn marks on Mikey's upper arms, and several new cuts and abrasions across the rest of his toned body, including a thin but sizeable incision on the side of his head.

"Oh, my little one," the rat whispers, tracing a finger over that cut. "What have they done to you?"

**TMNT/TMNT/TMNT**

"Leo? Leo, c'mon bro. You gotta wake up now." Bleary cobalt eyes open and focus, albeit slowly, on a red-masked face. A weary grin splits Raph's face once he realizes he's got his twin's full attention. "There we go. Hey, Fearless."

Leo blinks and sits up, rubbing at his eyes. "What's...what happened?" he rasps, coughing from a throat that's still sore.

"You passed out right after Don got Mikey stabilized. You've been asleep for twelve hours," Raph explains as he presses a glass of cold water into Leo's hands.

"So then...is Mikey...?"

"He'll be okay." Leo wipes at his eyes again as they sting with sudden tears, but his hotheaded sibling doesn't call him out on it. "Don said that it's a miracle you made it home at all, especially carrying Mike," he says instead.

"I was so scared," Leo admits quietly. "So damn scared that they'd really _hurt _him this time, and I...I just...I shut down. It's like my body just turned itself off and the only thing I was here to do was get him home. I didn't even feel any pain until I got here."

"Adrenaline. Happens to me too, sometimes. Like when Case gets hurt." The leader falls silent and Raph frowns. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it? Not just that he got hurt."

"He's too _quiet__._"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't-" Cobalt meets green and Raph inhales sharply at the wave of desperation and fear that washes through those eyes. "I can't _feel _him, Raph."

_Shit. _

Between the four of them, Leo and Mikey are spiritually the strongest and most closely attuned to each other. If Leo can't feel their baby brother on the spiritual plane...

_He's okay, _Raph wants to tell him, but the words won't come. Instead, he sags onto the cot next to his twin and drops his face into his hands. The wooden frame of the cot creaks dangerously at the added weight but holds.

The room falls silent for a long time, until Raphael drags in a shaky breath and sits up, pressing something into Leo's hands. At his brother's surprised expression, the brawler's mouth quirks up on one side. "I made you a new one," he explains quietly. "The old one was pretty messed up."

Leo gazes down at the blue silk in his lap, gently running a finger over the soft fabric. He'd needed a new mask for a while now but hadn't gotten around to making one for himself. "I'm surprised you noticed."

Raph's wince is almost imperceptible, and his voice is even lower when he replies. "I am, too."

It's no secret that the two have been at major odds as of late, but it appears that their baby brother's injuries may have either put the feud on hold or stopped it entirely.

"Thanks," Leonardo whispers.

Raph grunts and stands, making for the door, but he pauses on his way out of the lab. "He'll be okay, Leo."

"I know," the leader says. His unspoken words ring out through the air, clear as a bell. _He has to._


End file.
